Berriro galdetu, mesedez in Basque
A phone call on a bad line: asking again in Basque. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Egun on: zure hitzordua aldatu dugu, arratsaldera pasatu da.» — Good afternoon: we moved your appointment, it has gone to the afternoon.; «Barkatu, zer esan duzu? Ez dut ongi entzun.» — Sorry, what did you say? I did not hear you. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a phone call on a bad line: asking again. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- Egun on: zure hitzordua aldatu dugu, arratsaldera pasatu da.Good afternoon: we moved your appointment, it has gone to the afternoon.
- Barkatu, zer esan duzu? Ez dut ongi entzun.Sorry, what did you say? I did not hear you.
- Zure hitzordua arratsaldera pasatu da: bostetan baino lehen ez.Your appointment has gone to the afternoon: not before five.
- Ondo, eskerrik asko. Helbidea bera al da? Nola idazten da?Good, thanks. Is the address the same? How is it written?
- Helbidea bera da: Kale Nagusia, hamazazpi. Ba al dezakezu berriro zure izena esan?The address is the same: Kale Nagusia, seventeen. Could you say your name again?
- Bai, ni naiz Jon: esan dizut lehenago ere. Laster arte!Yes, I am John: I told you that before. Talk to you soon!
Lines one by one
| Basque | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Egun on: zure hitzordua aldatu dugu, arratsaldera pasatu da. | — | Good afternoon: we moved your appointment, it has gone to the afternoon. |
| Barkatu, zer esan duzu? Ez dut ongi entzun. | — | Sorry, what did you say? I did not hear you. |
| Zure hitzordua arratsaldera pasatu da: bostetan baino lehen ez. | — | Your appointment has gone to the afternoon: not before five. |
| Ondo, eskerrik asko. Helbidea bera al da? Nola idazten da? | — | Good, thanks. Is the address the same? How is it written? |
| Helbidea bera da: Kale Nagusia, hamazazpi. Ba al dezakezu berriro zure izena esan? | — | The address is the same: Kale Nagusia, seventeen. Could you say your name again? |
| Bai, ni naiz Jon: esan dizut lehenago ere. Laster arte! | — | Yes, I am John: I told you that before. Talk to you soon! |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and it gets in the way badly. It is one of the most reliably measured findings in the entire field.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Basque in this situation?
“Egun on: zure hitzordua aldatu dugu, arratsaldera pasatu da.” — Good afternoon: we moved your appointment, it has gone to the afternoon.. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.